SPIRIT
       LODGE

 

LIBRARY

Medicine Wheel

Page 10

(Main Links of the site are right at the bottom of the page)

The 24 pages in this Medicine Wheel section are linked below

Introduction To Dancing The Wheel
By CinnamonMoon

The Medicine Wheel is a vehicle, a tool, a repository of wisdom and teachings of the Ages. It is like a gyroscope, turning in many directions at once and allowing various perspectives to be brought into play as a whole. It has many levels and alongside the perspectives it offers, these areas can function simultaneously or become independent points of focus. Learning your way around the Wheel requires a breakdown to understand it but once that foundation is laid you can Dance patterns of your own making, randomly, or specifically for various purposes. Some ceremonies require specific steps around the Wheel to accomplish a specific goal and achieve enlightenment. Random Dancing brings various experiences and stems from a light trance state that develops through the guidance of our Inner Spirit. Self-imposed patterns allow us to seek out specific knowledge and experiences. The Medicine Wheel is a versatile tool that encompasses dimension, time, and space.

To demonstrate what I am talking about you need to understand that a complete Medicine Wheel is comprised of 36 stones…each representing a specific aspect of the whole on many levels. It means that a lot of information is contained there and one needs to understand each positioned stone (the symbol of that aspect and it's various dimensional links) to know what they will find within that focus.

For our purposes we will be looking at a very basic Wheel comprised of 4 stones and a tree…the elemental forces of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth along with their Spirit Keepers with the stones surrounding the Shamanic Tree. The Shamanic Tree encompasses the Three Worlds, roots going into the Below World, branches reaching up into the Above world, and it’s trunk in the Middle World…hence the Seven Sacred Directions. The main perspectives from which all shamanic work stems are found in the Seven Sacred Directions. This is where the shaman stands…feet on Mother Earth, like the roots of the tree sinking deep; arms outstretched, like the branches that reach for the sky; and the body of the shaman becomes the trunk of the tree…the center of its own universe.

As the shaman moves this center moves too, the two are one and this comes from centering amid the Sacred Directions to maintain that awareness…one eye, one ear, one foot in each world seeing the two as parts of the whole, not drawing lines of division. All is One and the shaman walks with Spirit…walks their talk…walks between the worlds…is aware, conscious of the signs and communication being made available through this process. To Dance the Wheel is to address the spirit world and open to the answers through dreams, visions, trance, signs, omens, Guides, Teachers, Guardians, Totems…through endless sources of information, inspiration, and enlightenment in an ongoing learning process. It is a state of being that is lived consciously and intentionally by the shaman, and Dancing the Wheel lends greater depth to it all.

Each of the elemental forces have Spirit Keepers. These are the Guardians or Gatekeepers to the four different realms. They have much to teach us. To the East we have the Element of Air, and it is here that the Spirit Keeper, Eagle, dwells. The Gateway of the East lends us the perspective of the Higher Mind, logic void of emotion, clean, clear, and inspired…we create, conceive, and seed. In the South we pass through the Gateway with the help of Mouse who teaches us to focus on our passion, innocence, trust, and heart…or in some instances it will be Coyote that tricks us into our lessons to shatter illusions and discover realities. To the West we have the Spirit Keeper of Bear and a perspective of our emotions, nurturing, healing, love, and introspection…this is where we journey, examine, and come to know the Self and our interaction with others. The Gateway of the North is guarded by the Spirit Keeper of Buffalo, sharing with us the perspective of our foundations and sustenance, our life experiences that give us knowledge…we apply our wisdom and understanding from our hearts with grace to our actions and thoughts as we come to understand the cycles of life and change.

The Gateway to the Below World exposes us to the perspective of our Ancestors, the Ancient Ones, the Elders, and our Totems…we learn the ways of ceremony, ritual, and lost truths buried in history, the truths of Cosmic Law and the Medicine Paths. The Gateway to the Above World exposes us to the perspective of our futures and purpose in life…we meet with our Guides, Teachers, and Guardians to see into our future as we see the path before us and why we walk it…and to learn to use our Gifts and abilities. The Above World is the realm of the Sky People. The Gateway to the Middle World is where we bring it all together within us…we are the Seventh Sacred Direction alive and moving as the center of our universe through the physical reality and the Now...the present where we bring all into union to walk between the worlds along the Web of Life.

To Dance the Wheel is to move through these realms of dimension and explore them. It is to bring them into union within us and be aware of all things in our environment as well as the layers of dimensions that exist super-imposed upon it. To Dance the Wheel is to experience these realities as the shaman knows them, to have an eye and an ear in the physical…an eye and an ear in the spiritual…to be a part of the whole and understand our relationship to it…to the Web of Life reflected in the Wheel. To Dance the Wheel is to get in the driver's seat of an amazing vehicle and begin a fascinating journey filled with experiences, enlightenments, and realities that become our own. To Dance the Wheel one can do it physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually…and in a comprised union with all of these present in our awareness. Dance with me…our first Dance, one illustrating the process. The next one will be based on a meditation and movement through each Sacred Direction expressing the enlightenment it brings to the question raised. This one is exemplary.

This said, I will be posting a series of exercises as a separate perspective so you can explore what I'm presenting to you at your own pace. I want it to come across as a breakdown of perspectives rather than a continuous flow of them initially. After you have explored each one you will start to see how this pattern applies to unification of the overall view and lends itself to a logical and spiritually aware conclusion…you'll see both sides of the coin and understand what a valuable tool you hold in Dancing the Wheel. Be it by journey, questing, in meditation, or in the physical sense…it all works together. With a mock question in mind I will address this as: "Why should we Dance the Wheel?"

Listen to the Drum. …feel the energy, the rhythm, and let your body move with it. Let me take you on this journey addressing the same question to each of the Sacred Directions. For now you are a Witness, soon you will step into the Dance itself, find your own rhythm, awareness, and enlightenment, but for now you are a passenger in this vehicle and will be shown the way.

 

Libraries are on this row
INDEX Page 1
(Divination & Dreams, Guides & Spirit Helpers)
INDEX Page 2
(Healing)
INDEX Page 3
(Main Section, Medicine Wheel, Native Languages & Nations, Symbology)
INDEX Page 4
(Myth & Lore)
INDEX Page 5
(Sacred Feminine & Masculine, Stones & Minerals)
INDEX Page 6
(Spiritual Development)
INDEX Page 7
(Totem Animals)
INDEX Page 8
(Tools & Crafts. Copyrights)


Cinnamon Moon
TESTIMONIALS
COACHING
READINGS
CINNAMON'S BIO
© Copyright: Cinnamon Moon & River WildFire Moon (Founders.) 2000-date
All rights reserved.

Site constructed by Dragonfly Dezignz 1998-date

River Moon
COACHING
MEDIATION
RIVER MOON'S BIO